Do Not Conform
As teenagers it's really easy to get caught up in what's popular and "in." The millennials these days are always coming up with new sayings and dance moves, some may be harmless, but others tend to be controversial. It's quite easy to fall into the trap of molding yourself into the people around you, after all "you are who you surround yourself with." Half the time we aren't being ourselves, just striving to be accepted and act like the most popular people we know.
I think my perspective of all of this is definitely different from most people my age. Part of this has to do with my upbringing and part of it is simply at the core of who I am. I go to bed early, I wake up early. I enjoy knitting, talking about politics, and playing the piano. I've never been fond of the whole #goals phenomenon, and I really don't understand why your whole Instagram feed is full of selfies. But that's just me.
However, I have fallen susceptible to conforming to the people around me, to a point where I really wasn't myself anymore. I think it's something that happens to the best of us, throughout all the seasons of our lives. Staying true to your real character isn't the most common thing anymore. The difficult part is realizing it's occurring.
Conforming can be anything. From acting differently around certain people all the way to contradicting your morals and beliefs, the conforming spectrum is pretty vast. And God has something to say about it.... "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." -Romans 12:2
God tells us to NOT conform to this world. There will always be pressure to fit in to what society deems as "cool", but God reminds us that his will is way more important than anything social media could conjure up. However, we do have remember that even if we don't conform to the people around us, we are not better than them. Nothing we do or say could ever make us superior to our peers.
For me, I am most myself when I'm at home with my family. When I'm speaking my mind, sharing my thoughts and ideas, that's when I'm the most me. So, when I hang out with others, or simply go out into public, I try to not waver from who I am with my family. If the same goes for you, just try it. Remember that God's will should be the most popular, and anything He does is the greatest #goals we could ever hope to achieve.
